Poker: Less like gambling more like risk assessment
10th August, 2009
If you speak to anyone who doesn’t play online poker about the game, you’re more than likely to be met with shifty eyes and them asking whether you’re addicted or if it’s a hub full of gamblers looking to make a buck.
However, we all know this isn’t the case and a top US University has proved it! Of course you can’t take away from the fact that gambling can become a problem if not closely monitored, but this shouldn’t become the stereotype, as online gambling sites are not the highly addictive place many lead you to believe.
Studies of late has shown that the availability of online gambling has become much more widespread, yet this has not led to a dramatic increase in the amount of people that are reported to be addicted to gambling.
A study consisting of 3,445 poker players playing in February 2005 until recently was carefully followed by the Harvard Medical School Division on Addictions. The aim of the study was to investigate whether or not online gambling was a potential object of addictive behaviour.
The findings showed that there was no direct link between the availability of online gambling sites and the amount of players that become addicted to gambling. Interestingly, gamblers who visited such sites were more likely to self- regulate their behaviour based upon their winning and losing patterns.
Mr Andrew M. the executive director of Harvard Law School's Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society was unsurprised by the study commenting that he believes, “poker is less like gambling and more similar to risk assessment”. He continued, "There is no house in poker, so no one is guaranteed to win," adding, "Poker exercises your ability to make good decisions."
By Faye
